My Crisis of Faith
'When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an
altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid
him on the altar, on top of the wood.' Genesis 22:9 (NIV)
Abraham waited for twenty five years for God's promise to be born. His own son. Abraham and Sarah had their own son. Then at 13, he was consumed by his love for Isaac, and as a parent would know, his son was everything to him. Isaac was all he could ever talk about. Isaac this. Isaac that. Isaac was all he could ever think about. So, perhaps the God that provides stepped in to give them both a test and just perhaps, threaten to remove the thing in Abraham's life that had become his idol.
Idols come in many shapes and forms. They may even be our sons or daughters or even be our jobs, our ministries, our houses, our cars or our hobbies. Idols are the one thing that takes us too far away from Him. Whenever we elevate it to the throne in our hearts, the idol becomes a faith problem. It becomes a problem when it becomes something that matters more to us than it should, and we begin to devote more time and money to our Idols than we devote to Him. Idols take away our dreams and desires for His will and purpose in our lives and become our own. We stop seeing, we stop hearing and soon we stop believing. God cares so much for us, that when He sees us build an idol, He may intervene and have us build an altar of sacrifice instead.
On our way to build that idol, the crisis of faith may occur. It's there, while we are on the way to build the altar, that our faith may be restored. When we realize what we have done. Where are you now God? It is then that the pain of the mere thought of separation from the one thing might occur. It is there in our darkest hours that we need to repent, not justify. When we realize how close we have come to losing it all and have time to think about what we need to do and what it will take to bring us back. It is there where we need to pray for God to direct us and see us though.
Praying, for Abraham, perhaps became a three day journey of physical torment to the altar of faith. Every step he took, took him farther away from his familiar and closer to the deeds that lie ahead, in this case, the fateful event. Maybe Abraham was even going through his own crisis of faith. Every night, while lying there on the ground, instead of sleeping he was going through every option. He had to sacrifice even his own thoughts. Considering the boy's mother. What would Sarah say? He had to sacrifice his own emotions. Every morning, he arose with the light to the sight of and the dreams he had for his own beloved son. He had to sacrifice his will. Alone. With his thoughts. With his doubts. With no reassuring words of hope to guide him. With only the difficult words of the command. He saw himself sacrificing his own son. Could he bring himself to do it? What would he do? What would God do?
Would he be able to do the thing that God commanded? Yes. Abraham, had the faith to follow through with God's command. He built the altar. He arranged the wood. He bound his son. He laid him on the altar. He lifted the blade to strike the fatal blow, but. Wait! An angel appeared. A lamb of God. Just a test! The God that provides stepped in to provide. No son sacrifice that day. The God of Love would never have us do such a thing. Isaac, how did you know? Even though you never had to go through with it, you got close enough. Your father knows what it must feel like to have a crisis of faith. Abraham, you must really be our faith example! Jesus, how did you know? Your Father knows what it feels like to sacrifice a Son. Jesus, you really are our Faith example.
When God calls me to part with the Isaacs in my own life I may have my own faith crisis. It's not always easy to be obedient. God needs to know that He can count on me. God does the calling and culling for my own good, even when I can't seem to see the truth. I am told that I should submit to Him even during my seasons of doubt and with gratitude and obedience. I know that His ways are higher, He is sovereign, He gives and He takes away, and what He calls me to do may not be easy, but I must stay humble and I must trust Him that this thing He asks of me is for my own good.
It's for my own good that He keeps me faithful to Him and that faith keeps me from slipping away. The sin. The sacrifice. As i build an altar of faith in my life, and as I believe and am obedient and make my sacrifices to Him, my faith grows. I am so very thankful for His Word. Because of this story I am encouraged to believe.
Father, I pray that You reveal to me the thing that I may have placed above You, so that I might remove it and be set free from it and be free to love You more, with a whole heart kind of love. Your Love. Everlasting!
Abraham waited for twenty five years for God's promise to be born. His own son. Abraham and Sarah had their own son. Then at 13, he was consumed by his love for Isaac, and as a parent would know, his son was everything to him. Isaac was all he could ever talk about. Isaac this. Isaac that. Isaac was all he could ever think about. So, perhaps the God that provides stepped in to give them both a test and just perhaps, threaten to remove the thing in Abraham's life that had become his idol.
Idols come in many shapes and forms. They may even be our sons or daughters or even be our jobs, our ministries, our houses, our cars or our hobbies. Idols are the one thing that takes us too far away from Him. Whenever we elevate it to the throne in our hearts, the idol becomes a faith problem. It becomes a problem when it becomes something that matters more to us than it should, and we begin to devote more time and money to our Idols than we devote to Him. Idols take away our dreams and desires for His will and purpose in our lives and become our own. We stop seeing, we stop hearing and soon we stop believing. God cares so much for us, that when He sees us build an idol, He may intervene and have us build an altar of sacrifice instead.
On our way to build that idol, the crisis of faith may occur. It's there, while we are on the way to build the altar, that our faith may be restored. When we realize what we have done. Where are you now God? It is then that the pain of the mere thought of separation from the one thing might occur. It is there in our darkest hours that we need to repent, not justify. When we realize how close we have come to losing it all and have time to think about what we need to do and what it will take to bring us back. It is there where we need to pray for God to direct us and see us though.
Praying, for Abraham, perhaps became a three day journey of physical torment to the altar of faith. Every step he took, took him farther away from his familiar and closer to the deeds that lie ahead, in this case, the fateful event. Maybe Abraham was even going through his own crisis of faith. Every night, while lying there on the ground, instead of sleeping he was going through every option. He had to sacrifice even his own thoughts. Considering the boy's mother. What would Sarah say? He had to sacrifice his own emotions. Every morning, he arose with the light to the sight of and the dreams he had for his own beloved son. He had to sacrifice his will. Alone. With his thoughts. With his doubts. With no reassuring words of hope to guide him. With only the difficult words of the command. He saw himself sacrificing his own son. Could he bring himself to do it? What would he do? What would God do?
Would he be able to do the thing that God commanded? Yes. Abraham, had the faith to follow through with God's command. He built the altar. He arranged the wood. He bound his son. He laid him on the altar. He lifted the blade to strike the fatal blow, but. Wait! An angel appeared. A lamb of God. Just a test! The God that provides stepped in to provide. No son sacrifice that day. The God of Love would never have us do such a thing. Isaac, how did you know? Even though you never had to go through with it, you got close enough. Your father knows what it must feel like to have a crisis of faith. Abraham, you must really be our faith example! Jesus, how did you know? Your Father knows what it feels like to sacrifice a Son. Jesus, you really are our Faith example.
When God calls me to part with the Isaacs in my own life I may have my own faith crisis. It's not always easy to be obedient. God needs to know that He can count on me. God does the calling and culling for my own good, even when I can't seem to see the truth. I am told that I should submit to Him even during my seasons of doubt and with gratitude and obedience. I know that His ways are higher, He is sovereign, He gives and He takes away, and what He calls me to do may not be easy, but I must stay humble and I must trust Him that this thing He asks of me is for my own good.
It's for my own good that He keeps me faithful to Him and that faith keeps me from slipping away. The sin. The sacrifice. As i build an altar of faith in my life, and as I believe and am obedient and make my sacrifices to Him, my faith grows. I am so very thankful for His Word. Because of this story I am encouraged to believe.
Father, I pray that You reveal to me the thing that I may have placed above You, so that I might remove it and be set free from it and be free to love You more, with a whole heart kind of love. Your Love. Everlasting!
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